> a baseball star remembered by thousands of fans here in miami. more on today's viewing and procession just ahead. cash crunch, a little league team cheated out of thousands of dollars. how this could affect their future games next. plus, the world is mourning the loss of the former israeli prime minister. how president barack obama and leaders around the world are honoring the nobel prize winner. good morning and welcome to news channel 8 today. i'm gayle guyardo. >> and i am gene ramirez. thank you for joining us on this wednesday morning. the former miss universe right now in the center of a political storm. hillary rodham clinton brought her name up during the presidential debate. >> this morning, she is telling her side of the story during

much more on this controversy in just minutes. but first, a check on the wednesday forecast with leigh spann. f0 yeah, we have invest 97l. and it has a 90% chance of becoming the next tropical system, whether a tropical depression or tropical storm matthew. the hurricane hunters are expected to fly into it this morning. they flew in yesterday and did not find a closed circulation even though they found strong winds so we will see what they find this sustained winds of 40 miles per hour and it's going to continue in the westerly otion through saturday morning. then it's going to react to an upper-level in dip in the jet stream which is going to make it apparently move almost due north just off florida's east coast is a strange path, i know so we're watching it closely to see how far west it does go

north. we will get more information. as the moment, i am watching just a couple showers, you see them, yeah, spotty in the gulf of mexico. and they may push onshore in the next few hours. i left in a 10%. the rain chance up to about 30% after 2:00 p.m. and the storms will push from the coast east of 75. and when it's not raining on you, about a high of 88. at 5:38, i have an eight-day temperature trend to let you know when it gets cooler and leslee lacey has the roadways right now. another accident. so a couple ob folks. everything seems to be off to the shoulder. and what you're look at is westbound i-4. they just moved the camera around. they had it to zoomed in. look down there in the distance. now they're zooming in back again. i-4 around kathleen road, we have a collision and it is off to the side. let's move over to the maps. this is where it's located. you saw traffic was getting by just fine. let's move over now to the sun city center area, northbound 75

blocked and no delays. that's a look at weather and traffic. back to gene and gayle. >> okay, leslee, thank you. happening today, remembering a major league baseball player with ties to the tampa area gone too soon. ami marlins pitcher jose fernandez was killed in a boating accident over the weekend. he was a stand-out player in hillsborough county helping the baseball team there win championships during his sophomore and senior years. ryan hughes joins us live from there. students, faculty and former together tonight to remember jose fernandez. >> reporter: that's right, gene. a candle light vigil is set for 7:30 just days after the tragic boating accident in south florida. this week, staffing coaches reflected on a phenomenal player and a phenomenal person. listen. >> to us, he was like a comet that we were able to harness for three years and then we let go for the rest of the world to

>> reporter: jose fernandez was set to start on monday but instead the team held a touching tribute. he fled his native cuba when he was just 15 years old. he and his mom settled here in hillsborough county, becoming a star on the mound. he was drafted in 2011 becoming part of the then florida marlins. coaches tell news channel 8 he would return here often to help mentor the high school players. back here live where you see a sign remembering him, the vigil gets underway at 7:30 tonight at the high school. in the next half hour, i will show you the emotional moment held on monday at the marlin's game. >> can't wait to see that. by all accounts, somebody who touched a lot of lives and enjoyed the game of baseball, ryan. thank you. right now, a pinellas county little league organization is in danger of striking out after parents say they were cheated out of nearly $35,000 by a sports management

news channel 8's mary mcguire is live in st. petersburg. mary, where did all this money go? >> reporter: gayle, this all goes back to the sports management company that is in charge of the little league team. they are having their own financial troubles. families here say they forked over almost $35,000 in fees to the texas-based sports management company. and now the owner says a credit card snafu is keeping him from releasing the money back to the league so that they can pay bills. parents here are angry. >> you know, almost 300 kids playing baseball here in the fall. and we owe thousands of dollars to local, you know, printers and shirt people and landscape people. and you know, we owe a lot of money. >> reporter: now 8 on your side contacted the owner of the company who told us his credit card processor froze his account so he is at the mercy of the merchant bank releasing the funds. in the meantime, parents have

to try and help the players, keep them on the field for the rest of the season. for the company and if there's criminal activity involved, st. petersburg police say they don't believe that anything fraudulent is happening here but that's little consolation the to the families here that depend on the league to disperse the funds so their kid cans keep playing ball, gayle. you heard, there's nearly 300 kids that participate in this league and they are depending on this. little lives. thank you, mary. happening today, a lakeland mental health counselor is accused of sexually assaulting his clients. he was arrested tuesday night. police tell us that he inappropriately touched two of his patients during sessions claiming it was part of their treatment. investigators believe there could be more victims. anyone who has information is asked to call lakeland police. this morning, a local chevy dealer is offering the reward

you can see the suspect casually strolling through the lot on 34th street north in st. pete. and then he climbs into the $100,000 corvette and drives off the lot. anyone with information is asked to call police. now to an 8 on your side consumer alert, stopping skimmers. a new florida law will take effect late they are week. the new law increases the penalties for installing the devices which means more time behind bars and i penalties on those who steal credit card information and requires gas station owners to take measures to protect their customers from skimmers. the new law starts o ctober 1st. right now, many around the world are mourning the death of former israeli president shimon peres. he suffered a massive stroke two weeks ago.

he shared a nobel peace prize for negotiating a peace deal. president barack obama called him a friend who forced us to expect more of ourselves. he was 93 years old. let's see what's happening weather-wise? >> not too bad this morning. almost all of us completely dry. mary a little more humid than yesterday morning and. the reason is, we have the onshore wind flow. and notice the spotty showers all out in the gulf of mexico. a few of those may get onshore in the next few hour your temperatures. we go from about 76 degrees at 7:00 a.m. to 81 at 10:00. and an afternoon high of 88 degrees should happen around 3:00, 4:00. let's talk about the rainfall potential. again, winds from the gulf pushing those showers close to the coast. i mean, between now and 11:00 a.m., you see all of the rain will basically west of 75. after lunchtime, we will start to see heavier downpours and those will be along and mainly east of 75 in places like eastern hillsborough, polk

the coastal areas will be drier. eight day temperature trend trends cooler. a-okay by emoji man. down to 86 friday. yeah, warms up next week. we will check on traffic on the 8s this morning. looking good. holding on to a nice drive. it is early in northerning. we have a couple issues. we have been -- early in the morning. we have a couple issues. this accident right around kathleen road. looks like one emergency vehicle on the right shoulder and mayb vehicles up here. we're not seeing delays and that's always nice. let's move back to the maps now. and over here, northbound 75 past state road 674. the sun city center area, we still have an accident there. injuries taking up the right lane but not seeing delays. so that's good. that's a look at weather and traffic. back to gene and gayle. >> thank you. out of control wildfires strike another city in california. >> the damage done and where the fires broke out. plus, in the wake of the first presidential debate,

campaign trail hard. which presidential candidate is in the bay area today. that's next here on news

republican presidential candidate donald trump will campaign in iowa and wisconsin today. you can expect to see more trump ads in the coming days trump is planning a major investment in advertising from now through election day. trump told supporters that his campaign raised close to $18 million following monday's presidential debate. trump told rally attendees tuesday night that he won the first debate citing unscientific online post debate polls. democratic presidential candidate hillary rodham clinton will campaign with senator bernie sanders in new hampshire today. her running mate virginia senator tim kaine will campaign in arlington with former

a republican and former navy secretary is endorsing clinton. he retired in 2009 and served with clinton in the senate. this morning, the issue of weight shaming is a hot topic. >> boy is it ever. the woman drowned miss universe 20 years ago says presidential candidate donald trump called her miss piggy and an eating machine. meredyth censullo is here. players have been responding on social media. what's the buzz? >> well, she was just a teenager when she won the title of miss universe. her name was brought up by hillary rodham clinton during monday night's debate. and in an interview airing this morning on "today," she says trump called her miss piggy, miss housekeeping and miss eating machine. she says that treatment was

>> yes, it's hard for me and i don't want to remember that moment. because i work really hard to forget that moment. >> reporter: now she is responding to critics on twitter this morning, just two hours ago she tweeted, you can see it here, i am not a woman of politics. i received threats and insults and false accusations, enough. i'm just supporting. now overnight, hillary rodham clinton's campaign tweeted 20 years after donald bullied a beauty pageant winner for her weight, the real problem is still donald. and now while not addressing her specifically, trump's campaign last night posted to facebook a great honor to meet with hispanic community leaders in little havana miami. i am grateful for your kind words and your support. >> all right, meredyth censullo

thank you. jeb bush is headed to harvard where he will be a guest lecturer at the john f. kennedy school of government. he delivers the first lecture tomorrow. and he is co-lecturing a courser course titled the political economy of the school. and he is helping out with faculty-led student groups and events there at harvard. activists near a memorial outside the home of keith scott, the man killed by charlotte police. the memorial started with flowers last week. and it expanded with a recent vigil. his family disputes the police department's assertion that he had a gun and refused to drop it after being ordered to do so. the shooting sparked days of deadly violent protests. an police officer involved shooting in phoenix tuesday night. police say the suspect rammed a patrol car after a routine traffic stop. and another police officer saw the suspect raise a hand gun

suspect. no officers were injured. two hand guns were found inside and the car. right now, evacuations are underway for residents in the santa cruz mountains in california. this fire so far has scorched over 2,000 2,000 acres. and there's a home completely engulfed in flames. at least one home and six structures have been destroyed. the fire is just 10% contained right now. f0 president barack obama will meet with service members this morning. the president will be in fort lee virginia for a town hall meeting that will be broadcast on cnn. topics include veterans, national security and foreign policy. and the president will take questions from active service members and veterans in the audience. in this morning's medical report, new government data f0 reveals the new teen birthrate ll 18% for nearly all age and

since 1991. researchers say --declining since 1991. researchers say fewer teens are sexually active and those who are are more likely to use contraception. cvs began operating target's drugstores this year and replaced the unique red bottles with the orange and white bottles found in most medicine cabinets. cvs has responded saying they are working on a new system for fulfilling prescriptions hasn't given details. >> happening today, a career fair in st. petersburg that's happening at the hilton st. pete bayfront at 333 1st street south. it gets underway at 11:00 this morning to 2:00 this afternoon. brush up your resume and head out there.

imagine planning to the pop the question and then losing the ring. that's what happened last night at yankee's stadium. he was so nervous, he dropped it. thankfully those around him lent a hand to the romeo. and helped him, tracking down the missing ring. yea, they found it. he got his ring back. he got a redo. and most importantly, i should say, he got a yes from his >> only because he found the ring. >> and by the way, the yankees beat the red sox 6-4. so it's a win-win. >> that's going tuberculosis a great story to tell. >> if he's that nervous now, i don't want to the see the wedding video. >> everyone is looking down for and it he is standing there. i can't believe this is happening to me right now. we have a couple raindrops out in the gulf of mexico. and with the wind flow that's copping from the gulf, i left in a coastal rain chance but most of you will be dry of course. 77degrees at 8:00 a.m.

the storms at noon, 85 degrees. afternoon high of 88. just by the way, average for this time of year. and the 30% rain chance mostly east of 75. not quite as cool as yesterday morning. we're at 73 in winter haven and bartow. 71 in brooksville. 69 in apollo beach. and tampa is four degrees warmer than you were this time yesterday. plant city, two degrees warmer. and that has to do with more humidity with the onshore wind flow. and 8:30. almost all of the rain is west of 75. and as the day goes on, the storms head farther and farther inland into polk county. and moisture for the storms today and more moisture tomorrow with the bright green color as the cold front comes in here. the drier air north of i-4 for friday. and then, yes, the humidity comes back. so we go to a 20% rain chance friday and 40% by monday. how about traffic on the 8s?

shoulder westbound i-4. still see flashing lights there and a vehicle beyond this flashing light. but westbound i-4, kathleen road in the heart of lakeland, traffic getting by just fine. hopefully it's going to be all wrapped up soon. and that's where it's located. and as you saw from the camera, there were no delays. this crash tying up the right lane northbound 75 past state road 674, that has completely cleared from the roadway. a little bit of overnight construction still might be lingering on gunn highway at the keep that in mind. if it's blocked off, take linebaugh. or ehrlich, that's another good one. back to gene and gayle. >> thank you. calling all law and order svu fans. >> one entertaining episode tonight. >> one prominent politician is guest starring and he is not doing it for acting fame.

>> tonight's new episode of law and order svu features a guest star that's out of the norm for the show, talking about vice president joe biden playing himself. >> i have no illusions, i'm not a very good actor. but this one i didn't have to act about.

>> the law and order episode focuses on a case connected to the backlog of untested rape kits across the country. an issue biden hopes will get more attention because of his appearance. royal couple william and kate are touring british columbia. >> and on day four, they visited canada's premier wine growing region. >> yeah, the royals attended a dedication at the 10-year-old campus of the university of british columbia. class wine region and university as well. >> that sounds like fun. >> yeah. the most talked about story. >> yes, and it involves a national controversy that's raising eyebrows. coming up, a local protest of colin kaepernick. how one lakeland bar owner is making a point. but first, outside for a

nice and dark everybody. happy hump day. weather and traffic on the 8s

early on this wednesday, time for weather and traffic on the 8s. still dark outside but a beautiful look over the hillsborough river from the wfla towercamera at curtis hixon park. it's 78 degrees. it's warmer outside this morning than yesterday. we had a little taste of fall yesterday with a coup and i do bring the temperature up to the about 88 degrees this afternoon. and the storms that develop will push east of i-75 in the evening and then taper off overnight with a low of 75. leslee lacey, how about traffic on the 8s? an accident still lingering to the right shoulder, westbound i-4 in the polk county area, folks. right in lakeland. this is is where it's located at. not seeing delays but just a little bit of remnants left. that's what i like to call it. northbound 75 before 275, in the palmetto area, manatee

no injuries are involved despite the crash there. we have a good drive through manatee county. vo: we asked women in pinellas county to describe congressman david jolly in one word: woman 1: dangerous. woman 2: backwards. woman 3: out-of-touch... woman 4: that's 3 words. backwards agenda for women. jolly opposes a woman's right to choose and voted to defund planned parenthood and deny women access to basic health care like mammograms and cancer screenings. woman 5: i have 3 words for david jolly... not for women. vo: house majority pac is responsible

> > a st. petersburg little league left in a lurch. how money problems could keep them from playing ball. and the company they say is to blame. and a new twist to the colin kaepernick national anthem controversy. the sticker a bar is using to denounce a plus, tracking the tropics. hurricane hunters will head toward invest 97l this morning. will this system turn into our next tropical storm? leigh spann has the latest in a bit. good morning. welcome to news channel 8 today. i'm gene ramirez. >> and i am gayle guyardo. let's head to leigh spann. f0 >> that's right. now the hurricane hunters are scheduled to go in this morning. they went in yesterday and found strong winds but not a